Special Designations

Exhibit 1 - Summary Chart of Special Designation Areas

Exhibit 1 - Summary Chart of Special Designation Areas
Designation	Type of System	Year Est.	Application	Principal Uses	Coordinating Entity	Comments
Research Natural Area	National	1966	Usually small parts of units; NPS designates	Observation, monitoring, and research. Important and potential sites to utilize for conducting long-term environmental and ecological research.	Federal Committee on Ecological Reserves (inactive)	An old but underutilized concept on NPS lands.
Experimental Research Area	NPS	1974	Usually small parts of units; NPS designates	Experimental research involving disturbance of natural ecosystems.	NPS	This designation is a new concept for NPS lands, although manipulative research occasionally has been conducted to obtain information needed for management.
National Natural Landmark	National	1962	Usually small parts of units; Secretary designates.	Variable. Major emphasis on protection of "nationally significant" natural features	NPS	Designation has not heretofore been applied to National Park System, although they do exist in parks where designation occurred prior to park establishment.
Wilderness Area	National	1964	Parts of units; Congress designates.	Primitive recreation, protection of natural resources, and atmosphere of solitude.	Various agencies	Addition to National Wilderness Preservation System legally restricts most development and many types of land uses and protects in perpetuity. Designations to the National Wilderness System for NPS areas are substantially complete, except in newly authorized units.
Wild, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers	National	1968	Usually parts of units; Congress designates	Recreation and protection of scenic, recreational, geologic, fish, wildlife, historic, cultural, scientific, or other similar values.	NPS, USFS, BLM, FWS, States	Gives the strongest legal protection for instream values of rivers and provides strong protection for the immediate corridor or environs on federal lands.
National Trail	National	1968	Parts of units; Congress designates National Scenic and National Historic Trails; Secretary of Interior or Agriculture approves National Recreation, connecting, and side trails.	Recreation and protection of scenic, historic, natural, cultural, and recreational values.	NPS, USFS, BLM, States	A varied and expanding system with complex jurisdictional and management arrangements.
World Heritage Site	International	1973	Entire units or parts of units; World Heritage Committee designates.	Natural and cultural sites recognized as of "outstanding universal value" and added to the World Heritage List to encourage their continued preservation and public appreciation.	Assistant Secretary coordinates program in U.S. Coordinated worldwide by the World Heritage Committee, supported by a Secretariat in Paris at UNESCO headquarters.	A few World Heritage Sites are also Biosphere Reserves. To date most in U.S. are on NPS lands.
Biosphere Reserve	International	1976	Entire units or multiple units; UNESCO designates.	Landscapes and seascapes with outstanding international suitability for conserving biological diversity, long-term ecological monitoring, interdisciplinary and cooperative research, environmental education, training, and demonstration.	U.S. Biosphere Reserve Coordinating Committee under the U.S. MAB National Committee. UNESCO’s International Coordinating Council guides MAB worldwide, supported by the MAB Secretariat at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.	In the U.S. multiple sites under different administering entities in the same biome are increasingly being linked to form biosphere reserves.

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